The Day They Set Off
by Enkei Reiton
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke reminisce on the past as they lie dying, both their thoughts wandering to the day they first became genin - the day they set off.  Not yaoi, sorry for you fans out there.


The Day They Set Off

The blonde's hair was slightly ruffled in the wind. Not that he could be brought to care in the slightest regard. After all, he was practically numb; almost dead upon the barren earth that seemed to offer no comfort. But the boy seemed not at all concerned by his imminent death, much less the ground or breeze. It was utterly pointless in every sense of the word, and he knew that.

However, he could not stifle the chuckle that fell from his lips, as his features grew softer and a small smile graced his lips. Many times in his life, the emotion of being fully and completely satisfied had evaded him. Yet in his final few moments among the living, it chose to overwhelm him and envelope him in a warmth like no other. And that, was by any standards, good enough in his book.

Besides, there was nothing else left for him to do. All of his promises had been fulfilled, and although he never dared say it, he had also accomplished his one true dream. Perhaps not on paper, but in the hearts of everyone, he had become what he had strived for. When people looked at him, they didn't see a little runt anymore, but rather the leader of the village.

Naruto Uzumaki, was, in spirit, the Rokudaime Hokage in his own right. Looking back on his past years that was good enough. He had gotten to protect his village and its people, even become a respected and acknowledged shinobi of Konoha. Sure his face would never be carved into the Hokage Rock. Then again, he would never know... Naruto was going to die and he knew it - he could feel himself fading away.

At the very least, he knew that his name would be carved into the memorial stone. At that thought, Naruto laughed once more, a fond memory found its way to the front of his mind, almost as clear as if it happened yesterday. An old memory of Team Seven, one that seemed so faraway, that few knew that once upon a time, there was such a team.

Although, whether people knew anymore or not, Team Seven existed, even if it was a faraway existence.

-Flashback-

"You pass!"

Naruto was still struggling to get loose of the stump as he ogled at Kakashi just as the rest of his team. They failed the Genin Certification Exam, they were certain of it. If they had passed, only one person would not have a bell, not three. In their minds, the logic their newly appointed Jonin Sensei used was incredibly twisted.

Naruto and Sakura were fuming in evident anger while the usually stoic Uchiha Sasuke glared at the smiling jonin, in barely concealed confusion and frustration. And Sasuke was not one to be easily confused if you knew him well. Normally he was the calm and collected academy student who was at the top of his class. But this... made no sense at all to him, and he hated every bit of feeling clueless.

Not that he didn't want to pass, but he was sure that he had heard wrong. Kakashi-sensei couldn't have possibly passed them. Yet he heard it again.

"You heard me," Kakashi said in carefully hidden mirth, "I said it once don't make me repeat it again." Pausing for dramatic effect, Kakashi made to clarify his earlier statement. "I said, that all three of you passed the test.", he stated while jingling the bells and grinned beneath the mask that covered most of his face.

All of Team Seven could only look on in blatant awe. Only Sasuke could collect himself enough to ask a rather foolish question. "But why," he began extremely weak as his voice continued to gain confidence, "on earth did we pass. We were unsuccessful in retrieving the bells from you. So why would you pass us, or were you lying to us from the beginning?"

Kakashi merely smiled in response. He did have a right to though. These were the only genin who had actually passed his test, and that was something worth celebrating. However it was too early for celebration, a point of his had to be proven before they began undertaking missions. Quickly, Kakashi grabbed Sasuke as he made a rush towards him in a brief fit of rage, placing a kunai at the base of his genin's throat.

"Sakura," a sense of urgency found its place in his voice, "kill Naruto now, or I will kill Sasuke. Choose!" Kakashi could feel the trembling of his students and hear their hearts beating erratically. Sighing, Kakashi hated doing this, but it couldn't have been helped, they needed to know the harsh path of the shinobi.

"If you were on a mission, the enemy would not hesitate to take you hostage and force you into a situation such as this." Kakashi watched as the words sunk in, having the desired effect. "Either way, a life is lost, and the mission will most likely end in failure." Relaxing his grip on the Uchiha, he ignored the boy who was now on the ground gasping for breath, beads of sweat running down his face."

"The only way to ensure the success of the mission is to put aside your personal differences. You need to think of the team as a whole, not just yourself." The genin slowly absorbed what their new sensei had revealed to them, said man know glancing at the memorial stone near their training ground.

Only Sakura was brave enough to ask why. "Oh, this stone..." Kakashi responded, "Is where the names of a special type of shinobi are engraved." Naruto who had been silent the entire time - a feat thought impossible by many- looked upon the stone with a certain reverence, only otherwise reserved for the statue of the Yondaime Hokage.

"Cool!' Naruto yelled, wonder and excitement layering his voice, "I'm gonna be on that stone." Soon after his outburst though, confusion clouded his grin and he doubled back on his words. "Ummm... Sensei, what type of shinobi are mentioned on that stone exactly?" Sasuke sighed and Sakura whipped her palm on to her forehead. It was exactly like Naruto to do something as incredibly stupid as this. Regardless, they wanted to know the answer as well.

Kakashi appraised Naruto for a moment, and responded with a certain reluctance, unheard by the genin. "KIA, is the term given to shinobi on this stone," Kakashi stated, but elaborated noticing the blank stares of his genins, "KIA stands for 'Killed In Action'... This is a memorial stone..." Naruto shuddered slightly with his mouth slightly agape.

The young jonin glanced once more at the stone, allowing long forgotten memories to flood his mind. He was thinking back to the time he was just a boy on a team along with Obito, Rin and Minato-sensei. He could definitely see parallels between his team as a child and as an adult, and so soon already. What had happened with his team, he never wanted to happen with this one.

Hoping to get his point across, Kakashi continued, "The names of my closest friends are on this memorial..." The genin were staring at Kakashi sadly, wondering what he had endured in his lifetime, when he suddenly shut his perverted book and gave them his characteristic eye-smile. "But for the time being don't worry, just be happy that you are official shinobi."

With those words spoken, everyone smiled, including Sasuke. And everyone but Naruto couldn't help but think of how proud their parents would have been, though some of theirs were already dead. And so they set off, Naruto still tied to a stump, madly yelling at someone to return and untie him, Sakura and Sasuke both mocking him.

Kakashi took one final look at the memorial stone and followed after his genin... 'Minato-sensei, Obito, Rin, I will look after them, because that is my way of the shinobi...'

-End Flashback-

Naruto laughed weakly one last time at the irony of his situation and finally took a last shuddering breath and went still. His smile was still present, a monument to all he had accomplished. Similarly, some miles away, Sasuke Uchiha lay dead, a smile gracing his features; a smile of redemption. He had also protected the Leaf - his home - and he knew that his parents and brother would have been proud.

He was grateful for that, but most of all he was grateful to Naruto, for all he had done, Naruto had forgiven him so easily and told him to go and protect Konoha from Madara Uchiha... So he did, and so he won... And as he lay dying a few moments earlier, he hoped that by some kind twist of fate, he would be going the same place as his friend.

'To be Hokage, that is my dream!'

'I will avenge my clan!'

'Sasuke!'

'Hey, Sasuke!'

'Naruto?'

'We're friends, alright!'

And you could almost hear their laughter in the wind as a warm sense of peace and comfort fell over Konoha. They would protect the village, just as they always had... The unsaid words to them always there...

'Naruto... Thank you... I love you...'

'Sasuke, Naruto, goodbye...'

The story of three friends, and the day they set off, only one remaining to tell the tale of Team Seven.

* * *

Many years after all the chaos had died down, two boys sat by the old academy swing in Konoha. The day was peaceful and the children were oblivious to the hatred of the war that had occurred not so long ago. The village was in a state of peace and prosperity as all the other nations, joined together in an alliance. All because of two boys, much like the ones playing on the academy grounds.

And as a pink-haired girl watched them play, she only picked out a few words of their conversation. Although she was a member of the ANBU Black Ops, their words moved her to tears, because of her fondness for two boys who were no more... But with the words spoken by those two boys, she knew that maybe, they really had not left after all...

'Hey Jiyu, let's be friends... Hmmm?'

'Hmph, why the hell would I want to be friends with an idiotic fool like you... Huh, dumbass?'

'Hey, I do have a name you know... And I'll tell you why... It's because, I'm gonna be just like the the Rokudaime Hokage and protect the village!'

'Huh...'

'Remember this, I will surpass all of the hokage that came before... My name is Yorukobi Tsuneni and... To be hokage, that is my dream...'

'Heh, whatever... I guess you're not so bad... My full name is Jiyu Kai... Nice to meet you...'

They shook hands and that was it... The day they set off.

* * *

And there it is, just a short and sweet little one-shot... I've always had this plot bunny stuck in my head... So I figured that I might as well get it down on paper... Plus, I've always wanted to do a one-shot so here is... Hope you like it, remember it's my first one-shot...

Thank you for reading... See ya later...

-WindSurfer


End file.
